2055 GMT: Foreign Affairs (Egyptian Front). After a period of uncertainty over how to play its relationship with Egypt --- given President Morsi's slapdown of Iran over Syria this summer, his key role in ending the Gaza War, and then his sudden grab of powers --- it looks like Tehran is back to the promotion of an Iran-Egypt alliance to reshape the Middle East.

Kazem Jalali, a leading MP with role at the Parliamentary Research Center and the National Security Committee, puts out the line, “Egypt and Iran can play an important and effective role in the Middle East region for promoting peace and security, and providing proper grounds for unity of the Muslim world."

Jalali hailed Egypt’s 2011 revolution as a “great achievement for the regional nations,” adding, “Every revolution is usually followed by a transition period which has to be passed and the Egyptian revolution is no exception to this rule. We hope to see stability and calm in this country very soon.”

Iran displays a US drone after it crashed in the east of the country in November 2011

The significant story from Iran this week has been the continued political signals for renewed talks on the Iranian nuclear programme, not only with the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) but also directly with American officials. Officials like Mohammad Javad Larijani, brother of the head of judiciary and the Speaker of Parliament, have indicated --- after issuing ritual denuncations of the American foe --- that Tehran will speak with the US "even in the bottom of hell". On Thursday, President Ahmadinejad tried to seize the limelight --- and any eventual credit --- with his own reference to discussions.

But on Thursday, that spotlight was turned from diplomacy to confrontation. Why?

Full interview of President Ahmadinejad by CNN's Piers Morgan: "How do you feel about being Public Enemy Number One?"

2049 GMT: Cyber Denial of the Day. Minister of Communications Reza Taghipour has said that Google is not filtered in Iran. Gmail's problems were "because of the rule of the judiciary", and "we had to observe the law".

1727 GMT: Nuclear Confusion. Yesterday we noted that Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, had confirmed --- for the first time in a public statement by an Iranian official --- that Tehran had offered to give up enrichment of 20% uranium in return for an easing of sanctions.

Now Soltanieh has denied the remark, reported by InterPress Service, “Let me tell you! I’ve taken part in no interviews about [the country’s uranium] enrichment and relevant issues with anyone in the past one month. I’ve not said such a thing."

2038 GMT: Tough Talk of the Day. Back from a break to find that it is not just the Iranian regime who can strike a tough pose....

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, has declared that Iran can strike US bases in the Middle East if Israel attacks the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities: "A decision has been taken to respond and the response will be very great."

Nasrallah continued in the televised interview, "The response will not be just inside the Israeli entity --- American bases in the whole region could be Iranian targets. If Israel targets Iran, America bears responsibility."

The Hezbollah leader said, however, there were divisions in Israel over an airstrike: Personally I do not expect the Israeli enemy --- at least in the coming months or foreseeable future --- [to launch] an attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran."

We would be remiss if we did not start this week's review with congratulations to Iran's Olympic team. Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Hemophilia Center reminds the world of the
unintended consequences of the sanctions: blocked payments for
life-saving medications. Girls and women are told they can no
longer study a wide range of subjects from engineering to educational
studies, while the Supreme Leader posts his first
images using the popular social photo app Instagram.

Claimed footage of insurgents speaking in front of the 48 Iranians seized in Syria on Saturday --- Tehran says the men are pilgrims, but the Free Syrian Army claims they are members of the Iranian military assisting the Assad regime

Many consider the 1999 demonstrations as a turning point that paved
the way for later developments within non-violent movements in Iran.
The events of that time also led directly to the strategies used to
control later protests:

A strengthened and more professional Basij militia,
under the control of the IRGC and acting on their behalf, answered the
rise of the student movement with a renewed mission to protect the
nation against the perceived domestic threat posed by liberalizing
influences.

Construction of a national internet continues. If anything, the regime is even more dedicated to its implementation given recent proclamations from the Supreme Leader;

It seems clear that Iran has been getting outside support for the development of its national internet;

Many inside Iran have begun receiving text messages urging them to register for IranMail (http://mail.iran.ir/register/?module=new). Registration requires the use of a valid national identification number;

Bloggers and owners of websites are being forced to register with a national system;

NGOs are now being asked to register with a national network;

Internet bandwidth is controlled by the state;

Five million sites are blocked;

Twenty-nine netizens have been arrested and some are facing the death penalty;

Justifications for Iran’s construction of a national internet are the need for “national security,” echoing the justifications for surveillance given by democratic governments.

The Islamic Republic’s clash with private publishers has reached
alarming levels. According to a recent report
in Kalemeh, authorities have warned active publishers that they are
working “due to the benevolence” of officials and “had they wanted to
punish all offending publishers, many more of their publishing houses
would have been closed". The closures are reportedly part of an
organised attempt by the state to intentionally cause a crisis in this
sector and further weaken it.

Some have expressed concern that the publishing guild is
insufficiently strong to defend its members from government pressure.